Anybody know why printer cartridges are hard to find

[CarlaH]

Actually I am only talking about the ones I want but they have been unavailable on Amazon for weeks.

They usually cost about £55 for a multipack which is a bloody rip off in my opinion but now they are 'only available for these sellers' and the prices start at over £90.

I check every day but Amazon themselves never seem to have any stock.

@thesedaysarescary and @Longdistance
This is the site I use. They are very good.

I found the cheapest place was going to hp directly.

Printer cartridges have to be shipped from somewhere like China. I'm having issues getting hold of some medication which usually comes from China.

• may have to be shipped

Hp out of stock.

We bit the bullet and got a “relatively cheap“ laser printer. To be fair the old Epson had packed up and we were spending so much on ink we figured it would be worth it - hadn’t factored in the kids being able to print wirelessly from their phones though 🙄. Now have an unopened pack of Epson Cheetah compatible cartridges to get rid of.

We got a Brother L3230CDW. Colour and wireless. Next day delivery - and you can pick one up refurbished from the Brother website.

Demand has outstripped resources

Io stopped buying branded ink years ago when I realised it was almost cheaper to buy a new printer than the sodding ink. Now I buy loads of cheap inks and I have a chip resetter (little plastic battery powered device) that you hold against the ink chip and the printer allows it to be used. It also makes the printer keep working despite initially saying the cartridge is out of ink when we all know there's loads left)

If your printer is out of warranty then don't be forced to pay stupid prices for Epson, Canon, HP or whatever inks!

Factories shut down due to covid, increase in demand. This is my industry and it’s been a nightmare...
Should hopefully be back to normal by mid to end of July.

Try www.worldofinks.co.uk great value and service ...have printed thousands of greeting cards on my Canon printers using this guy, really helpful and good quality inks at v reasonable prices

And if you are looking for a HP multipack they are most affected, try the single cartridges.

We swapped to laser about 20 years ago after I had a falling out with Epson because the printer wouldn't print a mono letter because it had no yellow ink, I barely ever printed in colour but the blasted thing wasted a load of ink every time you switched it on.

I've just had to buy a new one after our last one totally died but it was nearly 10 years old. It came from printerland online and was £90 which was more than I wanted to pay but it does double sided, is wireless and comes with a 1500 page cartridge that will last for years.

Printers and other office supplies have sold out due to so many people setting up home offices and home schooling.

Today I discovered that baking essences seem to have sold out everywhere when I was looking at supermarket websites to see how much almond essense is. We've got some dissarono in the cupboard, so I think I'll use some of that instead.

Wow thanks for all the suggestions.

These are the ones I want. I have found one company selling them for just over £66 plus postage of nearly £6 which still seems quite lot.

HP C2P42AE 932XL/933XL High Yield Original Ink Cartridges, Black/Cyan/Magenta/Yellow, Multipack

We haven't actually run out yet but I usually order a new batch once I have used the last one.

I did wonder about buying a laser printer but they apparently have toner cartridges which cost a lot to replace and a bit of googling seemed to suggest that for infrequent home printing they weren't the best idea.

@MummaMeerkat

Just had a look at HP's own site. They want £82!

@Hatscats

Thanks for the information. As we haven't actually run out I will wait and see if things improve next month then.

I've never had any issues with using a laser printer for occasional home printing. Inkjet is far more problematic, hence ditching it years ago.

They also come with a starter cartridge that lasts years if you don't print very much as they're good for around 1000 pages.

If you do need to replace, compatibles are easily available. I think my last one cost about £15.

I certainly wouldn't be paying £72 for inkjet ink. WTF? Do you need to print in colour?

This email I received explains why theres a shortage

I work for a printing firm and the suppliers have all put the prices up. However citrus are still doing normal prices if that helps!

I went to buy new ink, and I'm not kidding it was cheaper to buy a new printer with ink included. So I did. Same might happen in a few weeks when this one runs out. Ridiculous

Apparently the ink cartridges in cheap printers aren't full, so this may be a false economy.
We bought an Epson instant ink printer. We get cartridges for 2yrs with it, but we've had it a year and the cartridges are still half full (the ink tanks are clearly visible at the front of the printer). My daughter is doing art GCSE and Graphics GCSE and prints shed loads in high quality colour.
It's was far dearer than a normal printer, but we have easily saved money already, and still have a year of ink to go.

Currys

Should have said Readyink, as our printer is an Epson, Instant Ink is the HP version.

Best thing I did was signed up to HP instant ink just before lockdown. So many codes available on Google that I got 300 pages a month, free for four months. Definitely sign up to it!

I went to buy new ink, and I'm not kidding it was cheaper to buy a new printer with ink included. So I did. Same might happen in a few weeks when this one runs out. Ridiculous

Its always been like this in Australia. I've never replaced ink, just printers
I can buy a new printer for around $30 - $50 with colour and black ink
Just black in starts around $35 - $50, colour more, a twin pack with both more again but not cheaper than buying separate either.

HP instant ink
Far cheaper
Far easier

You'd be stupid not to